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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: straw · saw · rule · prune · clip · cap · track · current

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. saw — the tool
  3. prune — to trim
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. cap — a hat
  6. current — electric
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. current — happening now
  9. track — to keep track
  10. clip — a video
  11. prune — to trim
  12. current — of water
  13. clip — to cut
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. track — a song
  17. cap — of ice
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. clip — for paper
  20. rule — a law
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. cap — a lid
  23. saw — the tool
  24. track — a path

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com